Improvement in carriage-boots



T. S. SMITH. Carriage-Boot.

No. 221,747. Patented Nov. 18, 1879.

Inven to r.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

THOMAS S. SMITH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN- CARRIAGE-BOOTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,747, dated November 18, 1879; application filed October 7, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. SMITH, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement in Carriage-Boots, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification,

similar section showing the strip in the corner of the body, a view looking upward from the bottom of the carriage-body and showing a portion of the boot and the side and tail boards of the body, and a view showing the preferable mode of attaching the fastening-strap to the carriage-body;

The same letters denote the'same parts.

The present invention relates especially to the mode of fastening the boot.

Heretofore it has been customary to form a carriageboot of a piece of leather or canvas, and to fasten it to the carriage-body by buttoning or strapping it thereto. This reqnires buttons or straps an around the carriage-box wherever the boot comes, and it involves the necessity of unbuttoning or unstrapping the boot whenever it is raised or opened.

The aim of this improvement is to provide means for more readily opening and closing the boot, and for dispensing with buttons, straps, and fastenings upon the outside of the carriage-box.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a carriage-body having the present improvement. B represents the boot. It consists of 'leather or similar materiahfb, having its edge stiffened with a strip, b,"and mounted upon a frame, 0.

The boot in shape conforms to the curvature or outline of the carriage-box, varying to suit the style of the latter, andis made to project slightly from the sides of the box, as shown.

The frame 0 consists, preferably, of the end bar, 0, side bars, 0, and suitable cross-bars,

(not shown,) and is made to fit down within the carriage-box, the end of the frame, when the boot is closed, resting upon corner strips a, which are arranged in the rear corners of the box, and as shown more distinct] yin Fig. 3.

The boot at its upper end, b is attached to the carriage-body by buttons or straps, or other similar fa-stenings. At its lower end and on its under side it is furnished with a hook, b

D represents an elastic extensible connection, preferably a rubber strap, which, at its inner or lower end, is made to be attached to a projection, E, upon the inside of the carriage-box, and which may be either a hook, as in Fig. 2, or a button, as in Fig. 5. I prefer the latter, as the strap can be better held thereon when its upper end is detached from the boot. The upper end of the strap is made to hook onto the hook b The strap is of such length as to keep the boot down upon the carriage box, saving when the latter is forcibly lifted, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the operation being as follows: When it is desired to open the boot its lower end is raised, causing the strap to stretch sufiiciently for the hand to be inserted, whereupon the strap is detached from the hook I), leaving the boot free to be turned or bent upon the fastenin gs at its upper end, and to be opened to any desired extent. The boot is closed again by reconnecting the strap with the hook If.

A coiled spring may be used in place of the strap D.

I am aware that buggies having boots hinged to the body in the rear of the seat have heretofore been used.

I claim- 1. In combination with a carriage-box, the boot B, attached at its upper end to the carriage-box, and having the hook I)", the elastic connection D, and button E, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the body A, boot B, elastic connection D, and fastenin gs b E, substantially as described.

THOMAS S. SMITH.

Witnesses:

PAUL BAKEWELL, O. D. MOODY. 

